If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Schiit Ragnarok for Sierra 1?

Hi I am considering picking up the Schiit Ragnarok for a 2.0 stereo setup in my smallish home office powering the Sierra 1 NrT. Will play mostly vinyl and digital files. I am seriously considering the Ragnarok but would like any guidance as to whether I should be concerned about the output of the Ragnarok being a good match for the Sierra 1? As I mentioned, my home office is not a huge room, but would like enough headroom to enjoy all types of music at reasonable sound levels. Any input is appreciated.

Re: Schiit Ragnarok for Sierra 1?

Check this page out. It explains sound physics and power pretty well. The table makes it pretty easy to understand. So with the Ragnorok being able to dish out 60wpc, like curtis said, you should be totally fine. The case being, the Sierra-1's are sensitive to 86db at 1 watt at 1 meter from the speaker. That is hella loud for only using 1 watt of power at that distance (roughly as loud as a train on that graph). Now, I understand impedance will play a role in changing that efficiency in the real world.

But bottom line, as curtis said, for being an office set-up, it should be good, if not great!

Re: Schiit Ragnarok for Sierra 1?

Are you using it primarily to drive headphones? It's a very nice headphone amp, but is a rather poor value for the money if all you are doing is driving speakers. Images taken from the Stereophile review.

THD rises above 1% at 8 ohms above 5 watts of power.

At 4 ohms THD only manages about 3 watts before going above 1%

These are worse measurements than a $200 receiver from a major receiver manufacturer like Yamaha or Onkyo. Most receivers in that price range will manage at least 35 watts/channel at THD below 1%.

For example, the Yamaha RX-371, which I believe is usually sold for around $150 (msrp $250), outputs over 90 watts per channel before reaching 1% THD at 8 ohms, and 120 watts per channel at 4 ohms (stereo mode).

Re: Schiit Ragnarok for Sierra 1?

I went ahead and picked up the Schiit Ragnarok amp + a Schiit DAC (gumby). I have to say that my small office with the several year old Sierra 1 NrTs (that I pulled out of storage in my garage) sounds unbelievable. This setup is just as pleasing as my Sierra Towers + Rythmik sub in the family room. I now have an itch to perform the RAAL upgrade. I just wonder how well the upgrade will do in my near field office listening setup.

I read that review in Stereophile, which explains at length why those results shouldn't affect sound quality (it doesn't in my setup).